The Trump
administration has discussed possibly helping Iran access as much as $30
billion to build a civilian-energy-producing nuclear program, easing sanctions,
and freeing up billions of dollars in restricted Iranian funds – all part of an
intensifying attempt to bring Tehran back to the negotiating table, four
sources familiar with the matter said.
Key players from
the US and the Middle East have talked with the Iranians behind the scenes even
amid the flurry of military strikes in Iran and Israel over the past two weeks,
the sources said. Those discussions have continued this week after a ceasefire deal was struck, the sources
said.
Trump
administration officials emphasized that several proposals have been floated.
They are preliminary and evolving with one consistent non-negotiable: zero
Iranian enrichment of uranium, which Iran has consistently said it needs. But
at least one preliminary draft proposal, described to CNN by two sources,
includes several incentives for Iran.
Some details
were hashed out in a secret, hours-long meeting between US special envoy Steve
Witkoff and Gulf partners at the White House last Friday, the day before US military strikes against Iran, two sources
familiar with the meeting told CNN.
Among the terms
being discussed, which have not been previously reported, is an estimated
$20-30 billion investment in a new Iranian non-enrichment nuclear program that
would be used for civilian energy purposes, Trump administration officials and
sources familiar with the proposal told CNN. One official insisted that money
would not come directly from the US, which prefers its Arab partners foot the
bill. Investment in Iran’s nuclear energy facilities has been discussed in
previous rounds of nuclear talks in recent months.
“The US is
willing to lead these talks” with Iran, the Trump administration official told
CNN. “And someone is going to need to pay for the nuclear program to be built,
but we will not make that commitment.”
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This photo provided by the White House shows US Special
Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff in the Situation Room at the White House
on June 21.
Daniel Torok/The White
House/Getty Images
Other incentives
include potentially removing some sanctions on Iran and allowing Tehran to
access the $6 billion currently sitting in foreign bank accounts that it is
restricted from freely using, according to the draft described to CNN.
Another idea
floated last week that is currently being considered is for US-backed allies in
the Gulf to pay to replace the Fordow nuclear facility – which the US hit with bunker-buster
bombs over the weekend – with the non-enrichment program, two
sources familiar with the matter said. It was not immediately clear if Iran
would be able to use the site itself, nor was it clear how seriously that
proposal was being considered.
“There are a lot
of ideas being thrown around by different people and a lot of them are trying
to be creative,” one of the sources familiar with the discussions told CNN.
“I think it is
entirely uncertain what will happen here,” said a separate source familiar with
the first five rounds of talks between the US and Iran that occurred before the
Israeli and US strikes on Iran’s nuclear program.
Related articleEverything you
need to know about Iran’s nuclear program
Witkoff told
CNBC Wednesday that the US is seeking a “comprehensive peace agreement,” and a
Trump administration official emphasized that all of the proposals are designed
to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
The US has said
that Iran may have a nuclear program for peaceful civilian purposes, but that
it cannot enrich the uranium for that program. Instead, the US has suggested
Iran could import the enriched uranium. Witkoff likened the potential program
to that of the United Arab Emirates.
“Now the issue
and the conversation with Iran is going to be, how do we rebuild a better civil
nuclear program for you that is non-enrichable?” he told CNBC.
The
administration may have an opportunity to present a term sheet to the Iranians.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the US and Iran would be sitting down
next week – though Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said he
was not aware of talks next week, and people involved in the planning said that
details were still being worked out.
Sources familiar
with the discussions told CNN that no dates have been set yet.
Despite the
fervent diplomacy led by Witkoff behind the scenes, Trump this week publicly
downplayed the necessity of a nuclear agreement, saying on Wednesday that he
believed such an agreement was “not necessary.”
“I don’t care if
I have an agreement or not,” he said.
While the
president seemed publicly indifferent to hashing out a new deal after clinching
a ceasefire agreement, many of his advisers believe the pursuit of a
longer-term deal will ensure the ceasefire has longevity.
The terms that
were developed in Witkoff’s secret meeting have been the subject of continued
discussion between the US and Iran through regional interlocutors – primarily
the Qataris – in recent days. Qatar also played a key role in brokering the
fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran earlier this week, and will be
working very closely with the US to ensure that fighting between them will not
resume, one of the sources added.
In this frame-grab made from video, missiles and
air-defense interceptors illuminate the night sky over Doha after Iran launched
an attack at Al Udeid Air Base on June 23.
Getty Images
US hopes strikes
will prompt deal
There is hope
within the Trump administration that after the events of the past two weeks
Iran is more likely to accede to the US conditions and halt efforts that could
bring it closer to a developing a nuclear weapon.
But Iranian
experts cite the possible scenario that the Iranian regime may now decide that
it needs a nuclear weapon. Earlier in the week the Iranian parliament approved
legislation to end cooperation with the UN’s nuclear watchdog, signaling a
desire to further conceal their nuclear program.
Prior to
Israel’s military operation against Iran roughly two weeks ago, the US and
Iranians had held five rounds of negotiations to try to reach a framework for a
new nuclear deal. The US had presented a proposal to Tehran, and Iran was
expected to respond during a planned sixth round of negotiations in Oman. Those
talks were scuttled by Israel’s attacks on Iran.
On Saturday,
ahead of US strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear sites, the Trump administration
communicated with Iran through intermediaries. Their message was twofold:
forthcoming US strikes would be contained, but also that the US terms for a
diplomatic deal with Iran were clear and simple: no uranium enrichment, sources
said.
Trump has been
circumspect about the prospects of a deal, telling reporters after announcing
talks with Iran next week: “We may sign an agreement, I don’t know.”
“I could get a
statement that they’re not going to go nuclear, we’re probably going to ask for
that,” Trump said at a NATO summit on Wednesday.
The president
added that his administration would be asking for the same type of commitments
they sought in negotiations with Iran prior to the most recent conflict between
Israel and Iran.
“The only thing
we’d be asking for is what we were asking for before,” Trump said, adding that
he wants “no nuclear.”
Secretary of
State Marco Rubio, who also serves as national security adviser, said Wednesday
that any such deal would depend on Iran’s willingness to negotiate directly
with the US, not through intermediaries.
“We’d love to
have peaceful relations with any country in the world. And so obviously that
will depend on Iran’s willingness not just to engage in peace, but to negotiate
directly with the United States, not through a third-country or fourth-country
process,” Rubio said at a press conference alongside Trump in The Hague.
Witkoff on
Wednesday said there are “signs” that an agreement can be reached.
“We’re having
conversations with the Iranians. There are multiple interlocutors reaching out
to us,” he told CNBC. “I think that they’re ready.”
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